Road Cycling - Can you drink too much water?

I drink a ton of water at work each day. It is possible to over-hydrate? I mean, other than the obvious drawback of having to use the restroom every 30 mins...

Well I went to the book store yesterday and found a book on the strangest deaths. This one lady committed suicide by drinking 3 gallons of water. So you can def. over-dose on water. How much? I have no idea.

WOW, 3 gallons? I drink my 16oz water bottle at least once an hour throughout the day. So, i might get a couple gallons all day long, but, certainly not all at once.

Yeah I think this was at one sitting. I thought it was pretty crazy. Who knew water could kill you!

Yes- drinking that much water can throw off your electrolyte balance. It's called hyponatremia. The sodium levels in your cells drop due to the amount of water diluting the blood. I think you'd have to drink a lot of it, and I hear about people just drinking a lot of water in a short amount of time. I have a friend that drinks a gallon of water every day, and she drinks it over the course of a day- no problems yet!

If you haven't been sick yet, chances are, you're ok. How much water do you drink every day?

Koffee

Over the couse of a non-riding day, I drink about 2 gallons. I drink more when I ride. I don't drink that much to hydrate necessarily - I'm just thirsty most of the time. I've had no problems - other than, as stated, having to urinate frequently. :D

If you are that thirsty, have you considered a doctor? Just a thought. I heard one of the symptoms of diabetes is a lot of thirst. I mean, you could be ok, but if you drink that much water and you are still thirsty... wow!

I don't mean to alarm... just making a real casual, informal observation.

Koffee

I drink a ton of water at work each day. It is possible to over-hydrate? I mean, other than the obvious drawback of having to use the restroom every 30 mins...

yes, you can drink too much water, in fact you can die from drinking too much water from 2 reasons.

1) your stomach explodes.
2) the super influx of water, causes mass osmosis into cells, causing them to be too turgid and resut in lysis.

There was a marathoner I heard about a couple of years ago that overdosed on water. This was the first I ever heard of that. My friend was in the army and he was taught to dump salt into every 3rd or 4th canteen he drank to keep his electrolite balance intact. As for Koffee's comment about diabetes, I had a good friend pass away due to a misdiagnosis on diabetes. One of his symptoms besides weight loss was thirst. If it seems like you are thirsty all the time that is definately something to get checked out.

I'll never forget a trip I took out to Phoenix, AZ in July a few years ago to visit a friend. I knew it was gonna be unforgettable as soon as I walked out of the airport terminal and into the parking garage. 95 degree heat got up into my face...at fifteen to midnight! Wow!

We're all golfers, so this was a golfing trip. And we usually play 36 holes in one day. And this time, we did it on consecutive days.

My friend who lives there was adamant about us drinking water constantly. Coming from the humid Cincinnati area, this is important as you have the perception that you're not sweating because it's so arid in Arizona. In Cincy (and anywhere in the Midwest) you sweat like a pig.

I drank nonstop that first day. I had to take in at least three gallons in the 8-9 hours we were out on the courses. I stopped to relieve myself midway through the second round--my friend noted that this was a good sign--and my urine still came out yellow. I mean NEON yellow. I couldn't believe it.

That second day was murder. Played some seriously hard courses with little cover and lots of washes (hard ground where water from heavy rains runs off, the sun reflects and bakes you). I was one whipped puppy and no amount of water was going to help. I can see how people adapt to it, but I was happy to return to my moist, familar surroundings in Cincinnati. A sticky, 70 degree morning was never so pleasant.

While that trip was an anomoly with regards to good hydration, I know I'm not drinking enough water if my urine isn't clear. I keep properly hydrated by keeping close to the 64 oz. per day, 8 oz. at a time plan. Works for me.

If you are that thirsty, have you considered a doctor? Just a thought. I heard one of the symptoms of diabetes is a lot of thirst. I mean, you could be ok, but if you drink that much water and you are still thirsty... wow!

I don't mean to alarm... just making a real casual, informal observation.

Koffee

Yup, I've thought the same thing, but haven't seen a doc about it. I also like my room temperature to be in the very low 60's. I could be screwed up, or just a bit of a freak. I've been like this for the past 10 years or so without any problems.

Dood, make me feel better.... just go for your physical, explain your thirst thing, and let the doctor run the usual blood tests. If there's nothing wrong, you at least get peace of mind. IF there's something wrong, you at least have a fighting chance to correct the situation. My grandmothers both had diabetes and ignored the symptoms. Maternal grandma developed gangrene and had both legs amputated. Died years later of complictions due to diabetes. Paternal grandma developed glaucoma and went blind because of diabetes. She also died of complications due to diabetes. Don't mess around. I don't mean to be all gloom and doom, but dang... I hate to see people suffer like my grandmothers did. That was all unnecessary and all bad.

Koffee

Methos is correct. After finishing the '02 Marine Corps Marathon a runner suffered convulsions, lapsed into a coma, and eventually died from hyponatremia. Apparently she drank way too much water at each aid station and when her electrolytes got all out of balance, her brain swelled. Nasty, but fortunately rare and preventable by taking salt tablets or sports drink.

If you're thirsty all the time that may/could be a sign of something wrong (such as diabetes).

If you're just drinking out of habit, well then that's something different, this is my problem...well along with the frequent walks to the restroom, I have a habit of having something to drink in front of me, don't need it, don't have a thirst for it, just need to have it there.

Andrew

I have been a diabetic for 50 years taking insulin. Its no problem if you keep the blood sugar levels under control, but if you dont it can really mess your life up. Get your blood sugar checked - if you dont want to go to the doctor you can get a blood glucose testing machine at the drugstore (the test strips are expensive but if you only have to use one to ensure you dont have diabetes that is no big cost).